D&D 5E MM Excerpt: Bone Devil

[Nilbog]

Indeed. I just looked again at their 3e incarnation and have to correct my earlier post. The 3e version can still fly, create illusions, turn invisible and more. I don't know about 4e but this 5e version is palpably less interesting, unless there are additional abilities listed elsewhere, perhaps for devils in general.

Otherwise, is this characteristic of 5e monsters in general, that they're just less interesting than they used to be?

I have to agree with you here, I mentioned in a previous thread that one of the downsides I was seeing to 5e was that from a mechanically perspective the monsters teased so far don't seem very interesting, a lot of claw/claw/ bite + A.N Other stuff.

Hopefully not all monsters are like this, and some do have interesting abilities, one of 4e strengths (and 13th ages) was that it could make mundane monsters memorable by some of the abilities they had, turning bog standard encounters into things a little more memorable.

I know 5e is a rules framework looks like it is fairly easy to houserule/modify stuff, but I have enough on my DM's plate without having to tweak/rework the monsters prior to an encounter.

I know they are trying to complexity low, and I can't fault them for this however I don't believe that this means they can't make monsters interesting, the two aren't mutually exclusive

 

[samursus]

I am inclined to agree with what others have said in this thread, that the monster abilities seem underwhelming and a bit boring, however, I will withhold judgement until I see more devils and demons.

Maybe the bone devil is a bit of a "bog-standard" devil?

I dunno... in the end I guess it all depends on how it feels in play. Sometimes less is more?

We'll see.

 

[Quickleaf]

Huh. Bone devils can fly now. With funky-looking dragonfly wings. They look like Hell's answer to pixies.

Not much else to say about it. Monster with claw/claw/sting. Sting inflicts the poisoned condition and poison damage. Standard devil resists and immunities. Pretty dull, mechanically. The hooked polearm option spices things up a bit, but only a bit.

It's interesting that devils have lost not only teleporting but also the ability to gate other devils.

I ran a bone devil as a recurring NPC in 2e and a defining trait was the bone devil was an extremely unsettling creature to interact with. This was reinforced mechanically with a fear aura unique to this kind of devil. If I use one of these guys in my own game I'll probably add that back in (maybe as a gaze). Since they're supposed to be the "police force"/inquisitors of other devils, I'd also be tempted to give them truesight.

 

[Mouseferatu]

It's interesting that devils have lost not only teleporting but also the ability to gate other devils.

I ran a bone devil as a recurring NPC in 2e and a defining trait was the bone devil was an extremely unsettling creature to interact with. This was reinforced mechanically with a fear aura unique to this kind of devil. If I use one of these guys in my own game I'll probably add that back in (maybe as a gaze). Since they're supposed to be the "police force"/inquisitors of other devils, I'd also be tempted to give them truesight.

Fiends summoning fiends is an optional variant discussed in the book, so you should be good on that score. I'm assuming it's optional, in this edition, in part to avoid complexity, and in part because summoned critters are worth full XP now. So the DM really needs to decide if this is the direction s/he wants to go in.

 

[Stormonu]

I hope this isn't the whole entry. I've been somewhat concerned that all we've been getting are stat blocks and pictures and none of the old "biology/ecology/etc." in a typical monster write-up. I really have been liking what I see of the player rules, but these "combat stats only" write-ups have really, really made me uneasy.

 

[Quickleaf]

I hope this isn't the whole entry. I've been somewhat concerned that all we've been getting are stat blocks and pictures and none of the old "biology/ecology/etc." in a typical monster write-up. I really have been liking what I see of the player rules, but these "combat stats only" write-ups have really, really made me uneasy.

Seconded. Perhaps the general Devil entry has more of that society & ecology stuff.

 

[jadrax]

Am I correct to assume the bone devil can still use his polearm against the creature he grabbed?

That seems to be the case, yes.

Which I had actually overlooked, so thanks!

 

[LesserCure]

Did I miss something? Is 'poisoned' a status condition now? I understand that it deals poison damage, but I'm unsure what is meant that the target is poisoned for one minute.

Yes, a poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. (Basic D&D p.106)

 

[malcolm_n]

I like it for what it is, but for anybody looking to use a bone devil with a little more meat on its... well, you get the idea. Anyway, I've thrown together a rough interpretation of a more 3e-ish osyluth. I'm adding it here since some have been wondering what happened to the bone devil's abilities.

[h=2]OSYLUTH (BONE DEVIL)[/h]Osyluths are bone devils gifted with additional strength and power. They act as the enforcers and inquisitors of the nine hells. Like other bone devils, the osyluths have a deadly, poisonous stinger that they can use with surprising accuracy. They are exceptionally cunning and possess natural spellcasting ability, giving them an edge during battle not afforded to their lesser kin.

Large fiend (devil), lawful evil
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 157 (15d10 + 75)
Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft.
Str 20 (+5) Dex 20 (+5) Con 20 (+5)
Int 16 (+3) Wis 15 (+2) Cha 18 (+4)

Saving Throws: Int +7, Wis +6, Cha +8
Skills: Arcana +7, Deception +8, Insight +6, Stealth +9
Damage Resistance: acid, cold, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered
Damage Immunities: fire, poison
Condition Immunities: poisoned
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages: Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge: 11 (??? xp)

TRAITS
Devil’s Sight: Magical darkness doesn’t impede the osyluth’s darkvision.
Fear Aura: A creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the osyluth must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw against fear.
__Failed Save: The target is frightened for 1 minute. While frightened, the target must use its movement to move away from the osyluth. As an action, the frightened target can make a DC 16 Wisdom check to end this effect.
Magic Resistance: The osyluth has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Spellcasting: The osyluth is a 10th‐level spellcaster that uses Charisma as its magic ability (spell save DC 16). The osyluth knows the following spells:
__Cantrips – minor illusion, ray of frost, read magic
__1st level (4/day) – charm person, detect magic, sleep
__2nd level (3/day) – hold person, invisibility, mirror image
__3rd level (3/day) – dispel magic, fly, haste
__4th level (3/day) – dimension door, polymorph
__5th level (2/day) – dominate person, true seeing

ACTIONS
Multiattack: The osyluth makes three attacks: two with its claws and one with its sting.
Claw – Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
__Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage.
Sting – Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
__Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 17 (5d6) poison damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

 

[steeldragons]

I'm going to bet, dollars to donuts, there is a page we're not seeing that has some descriptive text about them/their place in the heirarchy of the Hells.

I would similarly bet, that in addition to the descriptive text, there is a page somewhere that we haven't seen yet that talks about the magical abilities of "Lesser Devils" as the preview notes 5, I think, types lumped into the "Lesser Devil" umbrella. Why would they have done that if these 5 beings don't have collective traits? All of them probably have the same resitstances/immunities and limited list of possible spell-like powers. Listed once, somewhere, so as to be repeated 10 times.

That's what I would do.

I would then, expect another "Greater Devil" section/block talking about what the Horned, Ice, Pit Fiends can do..."In addition to all Lesser Devil powers/abilities, the Greater Devils can...". Just part of the "Devil" package.

So, I'm not really worried about them being just "claw/claw/sting" [+ variant polearm if you want].

There's definitely more to this entry than the 1 page we've been shown.